are provided by trained social workers to the families. Porter-Leath Recognized by Shelby County Historical Commission On December 11, 1985, Porter-Leath's buildings were officially noted as historical properties and a marker was placed in front of the main campus building and dedicated by the Shelby County Historical Commission. The marker reads: PORTER-LEATH CHILDREN'S CENTER An orphan asylum founded by Sara Leath was chartered in 1850 and moved to this site in 1856. After surviving the hardships of the Civil War years, the orphanage endured the scourge of the 1870s yellow fever epidemics. Since many children were orphaned during this period, additional capacity was needed. Responding to this crisis, in 1875 the Independent Order of Odd Fellows provided funds to erect another building. In 1904 the name Porter was added in recognition of the generosity of the Porter family. Porter-Leath continued to be an orphanage until 1969 when it became a multi-service agency to serve more children in need. Northside High School Infant Care Center In 1987, Porter-Leath, in collaboration with the Memphis/Shelby County Health Department, received a five-year grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to begin on-site services at Northside High School. The Health Department opened a school-based health clinic and Porter-Leath opened an on-site infant care center. The center offered childcare for Northside students enabling teen parents to continue their educations. The center also offered individual and group parenting classes. Students were required to volunteer a minimum of one hour per week and to pick their children up after school unless participating in a school-sanctioned event. Once established, it was expected that the infant care center would be sustained with state funding. State Title XX funds were allocated to the Northside Infant Care Center until 1997, when the State began the current voucher system which allows parents to choose any child care center. Given the choice of Northside Infant Care, where the teen's participation was required and other centers with no such requirement or regulations, many teens began to choose alternative childcare locations. As enrollment dropped, the Northside Infant Care Center became fiscally unviable and closed its doors at the end of the 1997 school year. Programs for Teens in State Custody Due to the increase in the number of children leaving state custody without the skills needed to become self-sufficient, the State of Tennessee implemented specialized services to provide job training and independent life skills for youth